Almost exactly on that day, on December 6th, 1969, Goodison Park witnessed a moment that went down in history and seeped into the vernacular of ordinary society.
An (un)popular own goal
If there’s one thing no player wants to do in a derby it’s to score an own goal. When the two city rivals faced off at Goodison Park in the 1969/70 season, Everton defender Sandy Brown not only found the net behind his teammates, but he did so in style.
Visiting Liverpool were already one up early in the second half of the match when their winger Peter Thompson hared down the left touchline and delivered what looked likely to be a harmless cross into the Everton penalty area.
But Sandy Brown hadn’t read that particular script. Sprinting into the centre of the box, he launched himself into a spectacular diving header, aiming to clear the ball for a corner, but the ball from his head went beautifully into his own goal.
Adding to the ignominy of the moment was that Sandy Brown himself reached the goal line, and he had to swallow his pride when he took the ball out of the net.
The Reds from Liverpool then added another goal. They won 3-0 at Goodison Park. But in the end, Everton didn't regret the defeat too much. In the 1969/70 season, they won the title while Liverpool finished in fifth place.
However, Sandy Brown's own goal lived on with a life of its own long after it was scored. It was such a 'beautiful' own goal that it became an example for describing similarly breathtaking own goals.
Since then, at any football match on any level, at least in Liverpool and its surroundings, the saying 'doing a Sandy Brown' means scoring a 'spectacular' own goal.
Who was Sandy Brown?
Brown was born in 1939 in a small town Grangemouth in the central belt of Scotland. He began his career with Scottish league team Partick Thistle, making his senior debut as an 18-year-old in 1957.
He was the traditional prototype of the Scottish warrior. He played most often as a left-back. Brown was described as a superbly athletic, tough and fiery defender. For these qualities, Everton acquired him for £38,000 in 1963.
At Everton, Brown spent the majority of his successful career. In addition to the aforementioned league title in the 1969/70 season, he also won the FA Cup in 1966. In total he played 251 games in all competitions for Everton, scoring 11 goals.
However, his most famous goal was his '12th' - the own goal in the Merseyside derby on December 6th, 1969.
Brown left Everton in 1971. He then finished his career in Shrewsbury, Southport and Fleetwood. He died at the age of 75 in April 2014 following a long illness. However, the expression 'doing a Sandy Brown' lives on to this day.
How will Saturday's Merseyside derby turn out? Everton will ideally be looking to honour their famous home with a win. However, they face the runaway Premier League leaders...
Follow the last Merseyside derby to be held at Goodison Park, with Flashscore.